Tim Berners-Lee asks everyone to do new biz a Solid and let him have another crack at fixing the Web's privacy
- Reference: 1604994910
- News link: https://www.theregister.co.uk/2020/11/10/inrupt_server_bernereslee/
- Source link:
The Inrupt Enterprise Solid Server is the first product from a company the inventor [3]started two years ago in response to the problem of personal data online, where tech giants like Facebook and Google build vast databases on user's profiles and sell them to advertisers to make massive profits.
Inrupt has [4]worked on a series of new standards that allow individuals to store their personal information in “pods” whose access they control.
The decentralized approach allows for the free and fast sharing of data but with control in the hands of its owners. The project is called Solid and after two years of work at MIT, the team behind it has released an enterprise service: the goal being to move the whole idea from concept to reality.
In a [5]blog post on Monday, Berners-Lee announced a number of big-name partners that will run pilots, including the BBC, NatWest Bank, the National Health Service (NHS) and Flanders Government. The pilots are small and the intent is clearly to spark greater awareness of the technology and grow adoption.
The enterprise server will allow organizations to build applications using others’ data pods that can do useful things like draw comparisons across users, or build greater context around user data, while keeping the user in control of their data.
Will it work?
In theory, the approach is a good one - using web technologies to give people control of their data while also making sure it is easily and simply available to others - but the idea faces a significant uphill struggle. It would require massive and widespread adoption and there would need to be real benefits - beyond just the concept of it being a better privacy approach - for companies to adopt it.
And then of course it would require hundreds of millions of ordinary internet users to go to the trouble of inputting and/or organizing their data - through systems that have yet to be developed because the technology (a kind of peer-to-peer network with added controls) remains untested and cumbersome.
The internet is going to hell and its creators want your help fixing it [6]READ MORE
For many businesses, it will be a chicken-and-egg conundrum where it won’t be worth investing in the Solid system until there is sufficient data and users of the system; and users won’t bother providing their data until there are sufficient companies and applications.
On top of that, the vast majority of users would need to choose a third-party to act as a holder of their data “pods” so the information is readily available. That leads immediately to the question of whether it would be hosted for free - in which case the company will seek to cover the cost of doing so by selling it in some way - or whether users would need to pay for it.
Self-hosting could theoretically solve the problem - for example, holding personal data on your cell phone - but that is some way off with Inrupt admitting that “this option still requires some technical background, and it may not be suitable for everyone yet.”
That said, it is still early days. With new regulations like GDPR and California’s privacy law, a system like Solid would make it significantly easier for companies to gather and use data without having the weight of administering it all and being responsible for constantly updated permissions.
Berners-Lee is hoping that the system will eventually benefit from the network effect and the server is an effort to jumpstart the process. “Starting today, more organizations worldwide can take the first step towards building a trusted web where innovation flourishes, and everyone - businesses, developers, and web users - share the benefits. We hope you’ll join us on this exciting journey,” he concluded. ®
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[1] https://www.theregister.com/2018/12/11/tinternet_needs_work/
[2] https://www.theregister.com/2018/11/05/save_the_internet_hippie_manifesto/
[3] https://www.theregister.com/2018/10/01/tim_berners_lee_solid_inrupt/
[4] https://www.theregister.com/2020/02/24/solid_nrupt_plans/
[5] https://inrupt.com/innovation-trust-data
[6] https://www.theregister.com/2018/12/11/tinternet_needs_work/
[7] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
Re: And if there is
I hope I'm reading this right (I've been working on similar for my own amusement and may be overlaying my ideas). Its largely a set of standards. So Australia can demand a backdoor in a product, but as you have a personal server you control you can then add on the encryption to block it. It doesnt even have to be in your country.
As for the "would require massive and widespread adoption" this is a problem even FB started with. All it takes is a product (and that only needs to be surprisingly simple) and the instructions on how to set one up at home (click here and choose which router you have and this is how to configure it...) and there's two or three hundred people in my town of 2000 who would jump at it.
Re: And if there is
Those 200 people would jump at it, and course it would also require online services to adopt it as well.
I guess that unlike some 'adoption dilemmas' (i.e, I'm not buying this gizmo until it's supported by devs, devs won't bother supporting it until people have bought it) there's a low cost of entry (some time, possible a small hosting fee) to early adopting users.
I'm assuming as well that the likes of Google won't be interested in this, but the hundreds of smaller services and retailers we interact with online might be.
(And personally, I'd be happy in principal for smaller online companies to have access to market reports derived from my anomynised data - otherwise small companies find it hard to compete on quality, service and value because they are at a disadvantage in terms of market data compared to Amazon et al. )
Something like this sounds more like a national utility service.
Nations could invest in the infrastructure where the business case is weak protecting citizens data whilst empowering safe and responsible data sharing.
Although that would require nations to do this altruistically and not try to corrupt the process for their own means.
Fuck all chance of that I suppose.
Requiring user interaction won't help it get adopted either.
a pity :(
National Utility Service
I think countries would jump at the chance! It is TBL's idea so it must be a great idea and full of freedom etc!
But what you really get is a national identity service via the backdoor without the government having to argue (and fail again) for implementing it. If you can get big tech to pay for it even better.
In a few years companies will start to let you use it as valid ID, then the government will let you use it as a form of ID and a short while later it will be the only ID you can use. Which neatly allows correlation of all your personal data with all the private data the government holds on you.
Re: National Utility Service
Well, there is scope for one to hold one's own medical data. The owner can then authorise parts of said data to be released to, for example, a travel insurance company on an as required basis. The insurance company sees that you don't have X,Y and Z health conditions and sets your premium, then it has no further requirement for (and this no further access to) your data
One issue I see is the likelyhood of bad actors and scammers sending phishing emails or faked interfaces to get data from individuals. Some people might want to use an app store style walled garden, where an organisation vets 3rd party modules.
Targetting the 'computer wiz' of families might be a good way to go. It would need to be doable for the mildly tech literate, not just the already trained server admin.
"Alright guys. I've set up a few old computers to run this thing. I'll have one in my cupboard and mom will have one in hers. They'll be the same, so we have a backup. All you have to do is [describe process]. I think it should work, but let's just test it out and see how it goes."
It'll need to be easy to use, and be able to work on some hand-me-down laptops at first. Get it adopted, and then advise on upgrading personal servers.
It would need to be doable for the mildly tech literate
Not just doable by them, they would have to care enough to do it, and they don't. Let's be honest, the vast majority of internet users don't give a damn about protecting their data if they can get "free stuff" instead. Until they're scammed out of the contents of their bank account, of course, and then it must be the bank's fault, never theirs.
I applaud TBL for his perseverance, but tbh I don't think he's on a winner here.
So there is now a pod server for privacy
Good. I will welcome every idea that improves the privacy of my data.
Now tell me how that impacts Google's data hoovering, because I don't see that it changes anything there.
And if Google doesn't adopt it, well let's just say that it won't have much impact.
And the Titanic sinks?
What will happen to 'precious data' when (possibly decades away) the boat sinks?
All data is precious (for values of precious).
Those values of precious go negative. Eh? What? Yes. 'Amazon books marketing' sent me emails in Chinese I presume -- All of hieroglyphs -- (I deleted it obviously.) -- But it goes to show that just the taint of a 'relationship' can be a lure.
PS Go to merlinsmallbone.shop for great books about interesting people in interesting situations.
Gosh! Did I write that? Yes I did. Welcome to the shillnonet.
I think part of the problem they're trying to address is that inventing the internet is akin to inventing writing, and you're trying to control how and what people write. And inventing the web is akin to inventing the printer.
And if there is
Any encryption involved. Expect Australian to demand a backdoor. Which will then be exploited by some bad people, exposing all the data.